AI Overviews in Vietnam - what changes for SEO and business?

In May 2025, Google turned on AI answer boxes for over 200 countries - including Vietnam. With 78 million internet users, the Vietnamese market faces both traffic loss risks and significant opportunities for businesses that adapt.

AI Overviews have arrived in Vietnam

At Google I/O 2025, Google announced the expansion of AI Overviews to over 200 countries and territories, including Vietnam with Vietnamese language support. This was a major leap from the SGE testing phase limited to the US in 2023-2024.

By March 2026, AI Overviews appeared on 48% of Google queries - a dramatic increase from just 6.49% at launch. At Google I/O 2026, Google further announced AI Mode integration and Gemini upgrades, making AI Overviews a default part of the search experience.

Specifically for the Vietnamese market, Google also rolled out "Ask Maps" - an AI Q&A feature on Google Maps that lets users ask natural-language questions about places, restaurants, and services. This creates an additional "AI gateway" beyond the traditional search results page.

Chart: Google queries with AI Overviews grew from 6.49% to 48% in under one year.

Impact on website traffic

Research from Pew Research Center (July 2025) - tracking actual search behavior of 900 users - showed clear impact:

• When search results do not have AI Overviews: 15% of searches end with a click on a result.
• When search results have AI Overviews: only 8% - a drop of nearly half.
• Clicks on links cited inside the AI box: only about 1%.

With 78 million internet users in Vietnam - one of Southeast Asia's highest internet penetration rates - this reduction translates to millions of clicks "absorbed" by the AI box every day. Websites relying on purely informational content are hit hardest, as the Chegg case study demonstrated with a 49% traffic drop in a single month.

How Vietnamese businesses are affected

The Vietnamese market has specific characteristics that make AI Overviews' impact more complex:

• Outdated business profiles: according to Google data, roughly 35% of small businesses change their address or contact information without updating their Google Business Profile. When AI cites old information, customers get wrong addresses and disconnected phone numbers - a direct loss.
• Thin Vietnamese-language content: compared to English, there is far less high-quality content in Vietnamese. AI Overviews must synthesize from fewer sources, increasing the risk of hallucination - generating inaccurate or incorrect information.
• Shifting search habits: young Vietnamese users are already accustomed to TikTok Search and ChatGPT. AI Overviews on Google is just another layer in the shift from "click to read" to "read without clicking."
• Ask Maps and local search: with "Ask Maps," local businesses (restaurants, hotels, clinics) face a new risk: if Google Maps AI gives wrong opening hours or reviews, customers simply will not show up - and no website gets clicked for verification.

Diagram: 4 challenges specific to Vietnamese businesses and countermeasures.

How to adapt: GEO + SEO combined

It is not an either-or choice. Vietnamese businesses need to combine traditional SEO with GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) - optimizing so that AI selects your content as a citation source. Specifically:

1. Answer the question directly at the start: write a 2-3 sentence definition that AI can "lift out" and use directly - similar to the .tldr box at the top of this article. GEO research from Princeton (KDD 2024) confirms this as the strongest factor for increasing citation likelihood.
2. Include statistics, sources, and direct quotes: according to the same research, content with specific statistics and clear source citations is prioritized by AI because it increases answer credibility.
3. Structured data (schema): FAQPage, Article, Organization, LocalBusiness - helps machines understand and trust content. This is the foundation for both traditional SEO and GEO to work well together.
4. Keep Google Business Profile fully updated: address, opening hours, phone number, real photos - especially important as Ask Maps rolls out in Vietnam. Local businesses that do not update will have AI answering with wrong information.
5. Build a brand strong enough for AI to recognize: when multiple sources mention you with a consistent message, AI will cite your brand name. Each appearance in AI Overviews is free promotion - read more in our guide on how to optimize GEO for AI Overviews.

The opportunity for early movers

A reality few recognize: when high-quality Vietnamese-language content is still scarce, businesses that create good content first will claim the "default source" position for AI in their industry. Similar to the early days of SEO - first movers get rankings first - GEO has a comparable window of opportunity.

Immediate action steps:

• Check your current status: type your brand name or common industry questions into Google. Does AI Overviews mention you? If not, you are being overlooked.
• Audit your Google Business Profile: make sure address, opening hours, phone number, description, and photos are all accurate and current. This directly affects Ask Maps.
• Rewrite your most important content: main product/service pages, FAQ page, core blog posts - write them to GEO standards: answer directly, include data, add schema.
• Track and measure: Google Search Console remains the primary tool for monitoring impressions and clicks. Combine it with manually checking AI Overviews for your important keywords.

Frequently asked questions